The Tesla Roadster has been a topic of discussion for years now, with its production being delayed time and time again. Originally unveiled in 2017, the next-generation Roadster was set to hit the market in 2020, but that timeline has been pushed back each year since then. The promises of a vehicle with 620 miles of range and a mind-boggling acceleration from 0 to 60 mph in just 1.9 seconds seemed too good to be true, and it appears that may be the case.
Tesla had offered dozens of free Roadsters to owners who participated in their referral program, but despite generating billions of dollars in sales through this program, the automaker has yet to deliver on their end of the agreement. Additionally, many customers placed deposits ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 to reserve the vehicle, which was supposed to be on the market five years ago.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has provided various timelines for the Roadster’s production, with the latest official one being in July 2024. However, Musk’s comments since then have been vague, with little to no updates on the status of the Roadster. In fact, two Tesla executives had to be reminded about the Roadster by Jay Leno after they seemingly forgot about it when discussing upcoming Tesla vehicles.
In Tesla’s recent financial results, the Roadster was updated from “in development” to “design development,” but it’s unclear if this is actual progress or just a rephrasing of the status. With Tesla’s track record of delays and the lack of concrete updates on the Roadster, it’s uncertain if the vehicle will ever make it to production.
It’s possible that Tesla’s focus on multiple vehicle programs simultaneously has hindered the progress of the Roadster, or there may be underlying issues causing the delays. Regardless, the future of the Tesla Roadster remains uncertain, and it may join other Tesla products like the Cybertruck Range Extender in the realm of unrealized promises. Only time will tell if the Roadster will ever see the light of day.
